The Cambria Daily Leader

AN INDICTNT OF OUID..II EDUflON, When prize-deorao around ;11 -the Welsh iniechato schools,] readers of the 311 press cannot escape the coiiru; paragraphs detailing the exiation triumphs at each. We {leave to doubt gravely whetherise will be con- tinuing fEatures or, and our con- temporaries' colis, if the plead- ings of Miss Gbrrie Williams, j and her denuncias, are taken to j heart lJY those. have in their control the fnsritig and the mending of DCentra]. Welsh Board. In "W Education u-L Sunlight and Sow "—a bookj whose deeper as s we hope to have reviewed In. enthusiast in the possibilities ot system with- in a Jew davs has thrown down the galllHt,) those who have organised thurriculum and set (tl)6 examinatipapers of the Board. She cacnte ignored, for she offers chapter 1 verso for al- most she is very bitter, be is right she has just C<Ulse irir ,d1 bitterness. She declares irathc principles, dommatirig our prat system are these: A ruthless tui.nfiof true develop- ment ,to the "w minif a few empt-y distinctions whih arlamboyantly ad- vertis-ixl as repreenti the educational value of a echoi, Wo have not emaghnowledge our- selves to say >hese arc the principles donmtij; our present system, but waatv that at any rate tho newspes are, yearly, d el aged with sh -irmounc ements as s-ho writes ot Well, then, wt is the objection of the author oflie book to these principles? It iiut the external results cf the cifveate examina- tions dominate t whole trend of teaching "througit; the school; that so strong is > grip of the ex- amhiation eystei 50 thoroughly hn" it involved e entire Inter- mediate ystem, it the value anl, efficiency of a sc^l is judged oy the tiumber of cuicates and dis- tinctions gained, he assert-s, and she will have syrathy in the as- sertion, that thoeaeher who is tempted to strikeut on original lines and enviaageis subject from a broad cultural ?ound, far re- moved from the iten tracks of text-books, wouldhave his en- thusiasm chilled bvjLch reports as: The Board will est better exami. nation. results next y, bile pours out hor crn upon the examination fetish, ad denounces with her lull hear the cramping and pernicIouS effE.,)t HtilS pay- ment by results d'rine. Intermediate and eondary edu- Yatt.,riiiediate, an.-I ?Loridary efiu- been -rpreted i the narrow sense-of direct prepation for the Utiiversitieft throughte medium of the Central Welsh L>ard Certifi- cde Exammatiot'?. rhe hundred Intermediate school:?! Wales, sbe i alleges, devote all tlr energies to the requirements 0 these exum- ina^ons which repre^t the aim of every school. But le proportion of pupils who procecto a Univer- sity is SI) small th this ruthless sacrifice of the mail to the'few seems incredible. All otof Wales, in eiv district, it is the same. Intelligent*is everytvhe.r.c measured in terms of ademic fciicceejs. Inability to satisfy exaination recjuire- ments epelle incomjiettfe and unintel- ligence. And, cries Miss Wiams in her bitterness—f<>r sho s that her training in Wales fatd to provide her with the means j clothing her thoughts in polishe and well- balanced sentences, md tbat sbe had to go to France t have her hl- telligence tragedy, the supreme injusticefud the waste oi it!" We might j:JVe evolved a national scheme of ek.a,tioll which would have benefito every phase of life and every clai. and rajsed Welsh boys and girlJo be leaders and pioneers in scieno in industry, in commerce. As it i we seem TO prefer io give the uJversities and training colleges a W students, and let the rest, the iass of pupils, take care of themselvc -Cts best they can. ———1• ] t is for tho local eucation com- tpitiees, for the peopi who organ- ise/the curriculum, t answer this indictment, to say aether I\Iiss Willia??s is justified ii her general- isations. She carries her char, n-iuch furtliur, but wewill leave it! here, with one comment. The] Central Welsh. Board examinations' are about due, and very pa-rent with a son or daughtf sitting for them will know how e ban sting has been the period of preftration, how desperately worked he children have been, from dq,)n until the late evening hours, irforder to fit themselves for the intense scopo of the questions and tfc wide ^irray of facte they will be expected to have memorised. fcry many parents will say that IViss Williams is not exaggerating wten she says that the training n our schools tends to be but an unlue strain on the memory. we nope 1..116 ciiages will oe listened to; that the oer-emphasis will be forgiven bec;Use of the terrible earnestness of he writer of die book. She has her Angers upon the weaknesses of our system, aud we ought o be eouragious enough to resolve that Welsl education shall come cut of the shadows made by the crammers into sunlight 1 >f a wider culture,

SWANSEA. I After the expenditure has been deducted from the collection to be taken up at the memorial service to be held at the Albeit Hall, Swansea, on Sunday next, in con- nection with the Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers, any remaining money is to be equally divided between the Prisoners of War fund and the local Red Cross.

LANDORE. A presentation meeting was held at Dinas Chapel, Landore, on Wednesday evening, when Private Jcnkin Davies was presented with a Treasury note. Mr. J. L. Hughes presided, and a musical pro- gramme was gone through.

PLASMARL. I A m{eUDg under the auspices of the .qcat Labour Council was held a? Her- mon Schoolroom, Pla';marl, on Wednes- day cYpnju?. Mr. T. \V. Hughes pre- sided, and Councillor D. IVilliain,5 d-I dressed the gathering on Reconstruction After the War."

NEATH. The Sanduelas forward Movement 1 '?)\"niI?<h<)irentf)-h?TH-(1 ?ic?ick??d wounded Tommies at the Neath and T)i«- trict War Hospital cn Tuesday. The little ones did exceedingly well, re Aectill" the Treat est credit on their trainer, Mrs. Orion. The Rev. Arfott Jones presided.

T&EBOETW- The death took place, at his residence, Brvrige 11 v-terrace, flrelioeth.' on l.uesda^, of Mr. Jchn IHimphrey, ai'ter a brief ill- nesfl. The deceased, who was about 72 years of age, was employed at the Tir- donkin Colliery, and leaves a widow and two grown-up cliildren. He was a mem- ber at Caersalem Chapel.

NEYLAfiD. 7vfr. Edgar Tyjlloughby, eon of Mr. \\il1uughhr. ()f Ha íf.d heath. has <lied from pneumonia following an attack ol Spanish iJu." Deceased,^ who was ?3 years of age, had rcvently completed hi" itpnre?tic?'Inp jr P?a?'roks Dockyard. He was secretary of the -flay yard. Mission Roouu and was highly respected in the district.

MORRISTCN. At the Calf aria Schoolroom, on Wed- nesday evening, a presentation meeting vaa held, when A.B. Harris, R.N., who ie homo on leave, wa-s prosenteil with a wristlet watch. The Rev. David Griffiths presided, and made tho presentation. Mr. Henry Thomas also spoke. On Monday evening a wristlet watch, was presented to Pte. David John Davie6, who is also home on leave.

LLANQADOCK. I I A concert: was Ji-eiu at itlo Room, Llungadock, uader the presidency cf Mr. Llovd, Gla.nsevi?i, to welcome back from Palestine C.Q.M.S. W. J. Lloyd and Pte. D. Moses, son of Mr. and Mrs I Mos^s, Red I/ion Hotel, both of whom havo been on active (service -;incc war broke out. Both were presented by. the chairman, on behalf of the Reception Committee, NAith cheepies.

I LLAMDiLO. A large audienca followwith jntoijest- au address entitled" More Broken Earthenware," by Brigadier D. A. Edwin, of the Salvation Army International Headquarters, London, at Capel Nswydd Cong. Church, Llandilo. The chair was taken by Mr. Wm. Hopkin* J.P. The death took placon Tuesday, of ex- Inspector Handcock, late of the L. and N.W.R., after a brief illness, at his resi- NT ?V, R al'te r a brit-?i al? his i, e z s Llandilo. Deceased ¡ leaves a willow and four children—two 14ons and two da lighters—ail grown up.

LLAMGYFELACN. I Under the auspices 01 the Llangyteiaca Male Voice Party, a presentation was made to Stoker Thos. J. Davies, on Wed- nesday evening at Bethel C.M. School- room. The present, a Treasury note, was hauderl over by Misa Edith Mort. The following took part in the programmo: Messrs. J. John. Jack John, Misses Marion Morgan, M. ll. H. H. Evans, K. Jonkins, Maggie Thomas, Maggie Morgan and Celuwaa GT-p?ry. ?'?c- I tions wp!? also ?ivcn by t?o Ma'c Voice I Party. 31 r. D. Lewis presided, and Miss Uuth" I/enis accompanied.

I GLYM-NEATH. L I On luesday orenmg, at tno tnunu i Hall, tlie annual meeting 01 the Glyn. Neath Sailors' and Soldiers' Central Fund was held The following officers were ted:—Chairman. Air. lJd. Arthur (Tenby Housjc); viosvchairnlan, Rev. J. LI. Thomas, Vicar of Aberpergwni; eee- retary, Mr. George Biggs; treasurer, Mr. r. Williams (Council School). important alterations of the rules were adopted for the more editable distribu- tion of the fund, whlcq now amounts to alter payment of weekly benefits since tho beginning of tho year.

I PONTARDULAIS. I The mortal remains oi the late MaÆt.er William Sidney Morgan, only feon of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Morgan, Brou Llwyn, were interred at Rhyd^uch Cemetery on Wednesday. There was a large concourse ot mourners. Gowerton County School boys and representatives from the local Council Schools walked in the procession, and amongst the floral • tributes were wreailLS from the pupils Gowerton School, the staff, and from Tabernacle Church and Sunday School. The Rev. George Williams (.Tabernacle) conducted the last sad rites, and others who took part were tho Vicar of Pontardulaw, the Revs. D Lloyd Morgan, D. n. Davies (Ponllliw), JOfRpJi Lewis (Libauus), and Griffith Tones (Capel Newydd).

CARMARTHEN. I Maesgwyn," a freehold larm near I Bronwvdd Arms railway station, was on Tuesday offered for sale at Carmarthen. It contains about 13 acres and 25 perches of pasture land. The lot was sold for £ 1,950 t.o Mr. Jones, Plasnewydd, Allt- walis, near Pencader. Carmarthen Town Council, at an open meeting at the Guildhall on Wednesday, conferred the freedom of the borough on Staff Captain Edward T. Davies, Royal Artillery, a native of the borough, .in re- cognition of hi? wimiin? the Military Cro?. Staff Captain Davies is a son of t!? late Mr. Wm. Davies, staticnmaster ?t Carmarthen Junction, and 01 Mrs. Davies. now living at 3. Braseey-road, I Dinas Powis, near Carmarthen.

BRiTowrEnrsY. I Mr. J. Mogfcrd, g. s manager and electrical engineer, has been- appointed at Britonferry as overseer in connection with the Household Fuel and Lighting Order, vyhile Mr. D. Abraham has been 'lppóint('¡(l supervisor by the coal mer- chants. Mr. D. Thomas, who has been eugine- driver at tilie Ferry Tinworks, Briton- ferry, for the past 26 years, has just bwn presented with a silver mounted walking- stick and a case of pipes on his retire- ment. The names o:f three Britonferry scho- lars appear in the list of those succestfnl in the recent entrance scholarship ex- amination in connection with the NMth County Schools. They a,re: John Cooper. Neath-road County School; Edith M. Clarke, Noath-mad; arid Edna M. Owen, Vernon-place Schools. In the City and Guild of London Insti- tution examinations recently held in .-on section with, the Swaneea Technical Col-, lege, the names of H. A. Cook*, L. A. Peirci. and A. J. L. Thomas. jkitou ferry, appear as having passed Grade 1 in iron and steel manufacture, and also iust- claes in Grade 2 of the game cub;ect.

LLANDOVERY. An inquest was held on Wednesday on \i tho infant sou of the lato Mr. Thomas Scourfield and Mrs. Scourfield, of Llan- genneeh. The jury returned an open ver- diet that the child was l'ound drowned in tho River Bran, and added a rider calling the attention of the County Council to a dangerous entrance to the river in a wall opposite the White Swan Hotel, to which children had access, and recommending the chiding of the gap. At a public meeting held at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening, under the pre- sidency of Mr. VI. Jones (Mayor"), it was decided to hold eports, a carnival, and a baby show, ('1 the 22nd of August, in aid of the Swansea Hospital and the local Prisoners of War Fiar.l. Mrs. (Dr.) Mor- gan, Mrs. C. P. Lew: and Miss James (iiaesjeoed) were appointed joint secre- taries.

BRYNAMMAN. Anss Lottie b-rifbtu.?, daugiiter of Mr. and ii U14. Hugh. Griffiths, Now-road, Brynamman, has commenced duties as a military nurse at a Manchester Hospital. Mr. Thomas Jones, Glyn-road, and his son, 3Ir. W. T. Jones, bird fanciers, Bryn- amman, attended an exhibition at Perth, .Scotland, OIl Saturday. Tho latter won first priwe for the best bird. About sis o'clock on Saturday morning they let loose two of their pigeons, both reaching Bryn- i distance is about 320 miles. The death is recorded of Mr. Edward Harris, Old Company"s-iow, Brvnamman. at the age 0f 49 years. Deceased had. been suffering from bronchial trouble for a long time, and failed.to survive an attack of the uow fever, as a, consequence. He leaves a widow and three children. He was employed as a lampman at Gwaun- eae-Gurwen Colliery.

LLANELLY. Bro. Jolin Thomas, ?, I?a?Md-road. LlaneUv, has been presented with a hpavHy-momtod w?lkin?-stick by the members of the Loyal Greenfields In1ge, Loyal Order of Alfreds, on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Mr. Thomas has been a member of the lodge for 43 years anrllwR acted as treasurer for the past 24 years. Sidney Williams, 2, Downing-street, Llanolly, was fined < £ at Llaiielly on Wednesday ir," having tobacco in his po3- session at a West Wales factory. To mark the occasion of their departaro from Llanelly, L'r. J. Edgar Da/ies and his sister, Miss Davies. were on Tuesday might the recipients of a valuable time- piece and piudant respectively, the pre- sents bedtig jointly given Ly the L'anelly and District Temperance League and the local branch of the B.W.T.A. Mr. J. Henry Thomas presided*. Luther Thomas, Craig-y-Noi*. Minke, was summoned at Llanelly on Wednesday for mounting the footboard cf a train on the Burrvport and Gwendraeth Valley Railway whilst in motion on June 2Sth. The case was adjourned for kL ve,,elr. The funeral took place on Tuesday of Mr. David Henry Evans, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans, Argyle .'louse, Marble Hall-road, Llanelly, the inter- ment being at Box Cemetery, and the Rev. J Davies, St. Albans, officiating.. Deceased, who was 28 years of age, di "d suddenly in Coventry, whero he was work- ing on munitions. He had served in France with tho Royah Air Service, and his brtoher, Frank Evans, is in the Navy.

MORE PUPILS SOON. Irrtermstfirafe School Room at Swansea. There was a good deal of discussion at Wednesday's meeting of Swansea Town Council over the Education Committee's decision to provide intermediate school temporary accommodation for 90 girl5. at an estimated cost of ];:),11:,0..Ald. Geo. Colwill, who raised the question, said he was not opposed to secondary education; on the contrary, he was a keen advocate of it; but he objected to spending such a sum on temporary accommodation. If the Treasury would sanction the spend- ing of such a sum on temporary accommo- dation, why not ask for an additional £1,000 and make tlie accommodation per- manent ? Mr. Ivor Gwynne and tho Town Clerk dealt with the financial IKJGition, the Town Clerk explaining that Cos Borough Trea- surer s-iid the = £ 1,050 would CODle out of revenue. The dilliculty viaa got over by amfmd- ina: the Education (.kuva-rxitteo minute to the effect that the Trasury be asked to sanction the larger expenditure on a per- manent building, failing which the com- mitted should proceed with the temporary one. It was pointed out in the course of the discussion that vrith the extension of the borough there would be need for more secondary school accommodation for both girh and boys, and it was stated that the question of provision for n;e latter would come up at the next meeting.

NO GRAVEDIGGERS. I Scarcity of Labour ? Swan- sea Holds Up Funerals. A serious Etate of affairs rS*wansea cemeteries was revealed at Wednesday s meeting of the Borough Council, when Mr. David Richards drew attention to the following item in the minutes of the Parks and Burial Ground Committee: The Superintendent reported on the ehoTtege of labour at the cemeteries, and stated that in consequence of the illness of four of tbo six gravediggere at Danygraig Cemetery funerals bad bad to be postponed, a?d Mke<1 for t.i? '8 situceo of the committee in obtain ilg additional labour.?ies?ved that this ?attfr be referred to )th6 chairman, vice-chairman, and ? ?upcrmtondcnt, with power to deal therewith. Mr. Richards said ho would like to know whether the gentlemen named were attending to the matter or not. Mr. Geo. Hemmings: We are, fcir. Mr. Richards (continuing): I tin tempted to ask a (piestion, because the matter is very feerious. One of our men died last week, and the hody should Lave been buried last Saturday. The body was in a terrible state. It could not be buried until Tuesday because there vTas no gravedigger at the cemetery. This is happening, I am told, all over the town. That is why I ask whether the chairman is taking it up in a oerious way. Mr. Hemmngs replied that every tili_ ng was being done that could be done. I n- fos-tunatoly there was a shortage of labour, but the graves were being dug by the gravediggere of the other ceme- teries. The minutes of the committee in ques- tion were then confirmed, and Mr. Richards, resuming, said the matter wanted looking into. The Mayor: And the chairman is look- ing into it, as he has said. Mr. Richards still protested, TheTe is a lot in it," and the Mayor ruled him out of order.

Thomae Griffiths, copper tf^r KPr, charged with having been drunk and disorderly, and assault ing Air. J. Lea, a special constable, was fined 40s. at Swan- sea en, Thursday.

TOWN T AL. Some Aberavon allotment holders are going to have a good time. Four of them have won silver cups. Mr. Charles Bragg, Porthcawl, has har- vested a fine field of oais, likely to run to SO bushels per acre. In the London suburbs the grocers have big announcements 1l the windows; "Bacon without coupons." o; — A Pontardawe allotment holder wants to know the best way to preserve peas. By giving the Germans beans;" 0: The Skewen kidney bean record has made 6{)1ll Neath growers greener than tho lea\es of their scarlet runners. Doctor's surgeries are crowded to the doora nowadays. Says the met comer, o wonder we are called patients." :0 rrowy fishermen have rec-ently found sewin far more numerous than salmon. It has been the best year for sewm since 1908. Neath allotments are being judged to- day for a silver challenge cup and money prizes. There are nearly 1,ueu competi- tors. Some task i o: — No, Constant Reader/' T.R. and the real, we decline to divulge the name of the county police super, who was seen at the hairdres.-erVI A Nonconformist Independent, chapel which was built as far back as 178S at Three Crosses has never had a name. Is there such another anywhere? — :o Ample provi-sion has been made for the I supply of butcher's meat during the Neath National Eisteddfod. Plenty of meat and meetings is the order! -:0:- It is a pity circumstances do not allow of the entry of a khaki-clad male voice party for this .\4;;11"" \atiæal EisteddiOf!. Some of the most tuneful of our lade are now on foreign service. -:00:- A Mumhlee allotment holder went with a h«$e l>asket to pick his crop of rasp- berries the other day. But ho was able to carry tho lot home on a cabbage le&f. Evidently his eyes had deceived him. -'0'- Two soldiers on leave from Jb ranee came west by the irieh mail last night. At every station, bubbling over wi th fun, they shouted oui; a laughing, Why aren't you with tiie W.A.A.C/s?" to the women on the platform. — ;0 .— A Cookett Parish Councillor stated that nio and tlio clerk, or rather the clerk and nie," went to London. Whatever may be said from the philological point of Mew this certainly shows due rever- ence for the official. -.0'- The train was speeding between R-ead- ing and Bath last night. The country looked beautitul. Two war-worn Welsh- men looked out at it with deep content- ment. My word, Dai! eaid one to the other. "not a bloomiflff 6holl-hole in view." Mumbles residents were delighted to see their old friend Inspector James Davies, who was stationed at the village some years ago, hut who is now at Tosy- pandy. The genial officer, down for the Assizes, seems to be nourishing on war rations. -:0:- "YêS," said a Swansea eisteddfodwr, the National Eisteddfod at Neath will be all right, no doubt. But the good people there will not be favoured with the presence of the Breton delegates who made suoh a picturesque display at the Swansea National. o; A Socialist is a man who has nothing and is anxious to share it with somebody else," definition facetiously given by Mr. Frank Hodges, of the Garw Val- ley, to an Ammanford audience. Of course, it was not his own, but that of a, London variety artiste. — :0 A youngster hanging on to the back of a tram-car was taught a rather sharp lesson iu Neath-road. Letting go nis hold in a hurry on seeing the conductor com- ing, he dropped fiat in the mud. and, on picking himself up. presented a. pitiable spectacle. We wonder what reception ho had when ho got home! With regard to the adver tis^ment that appeared in the Leader" requiring chairs for a mission hall in the Swansea district, a. correspondent suggests that the committee should engage a bard and enter him for every chair competition at local eisteddfodau. There is one of Hse fraternity in th?? ?? .in?ca. VaHey who ha? already won 122, and is still going strong. already won 12., aii,l i-, *;till goin,- -:0:- is of opinion that not only should manual workers i-fi pensioned off tr 60, but mem- bers of Parliament as well. Biology proves (so he said at Ammanford) that at no a man is not the virile, competent, intellectual man of his younger Cays, and members of the House of Commons are not hy any means exempt from the opera. tion of that -great biological law." —: <r — .n np-line journal seems to know a great deal mure about the arrangements for presenting the Premier with the free- dom of Swansea than either Mr. Lloyd George or thf) authorities at Swansea. The attitild ten up is hard to under- stand. In the repeated statement that the ooremony is to take place at the Neath Eisteddfod pavilion is the wisit father to the thought? And if so, whence this parochialism ? 0 — I Th. attendant in the pay-box of a local place ot amusement meets -with some funny and queer requests now and again. One evening this week a young lady ap- proached the pigeon-hole and called for two tickets. She took one, and asked that the'other should be retained for (mentioning some unknown person's name) who would call later. The crowd behind were impatient at the delay, but smiled all the some. A man who is not superstitions and attaches no importance to so-called signs, is beginning to think. On bis way to work in the morning a black kitten crossed his path; further on he piclod up two farthings; next he IrflL a I Irici. i whom he tad not seen for wiua and who returned him half-a-crown he had borrowed; and then, when he got to hi* workroom, he found a spider in his cup, Quite an eventful morning. We have had several showers of "red rain in Glamorgan the last few years— of which, various explanations have been given, but the most curious local event of tiiQ kind on record is enrely that of a shower of pilchards at Mountain Ash. This is described in the -Climes of February 25th, l*5;t, by tho Rev. Aaron Roberta, curate of Carmarthen. Showers of fish and frogs, though rare, are not, of course, absolutely unique occurrences. —:<* It is beyond doubt that the wealthier cUsses—that is. the aristocracy of the working classes—are making t extremely d;, °iciut for the middle classes to live. Mainly because of the former's abnormally high wages Md their habit of paying well for thei? need?, prices are still scaring eky- warde. B'?arin? on this matter a South ?Wales ?3h merchant tllg a 6tùry of & boilenmaker whose weekly bill for f r-psh salmoti is round about 1(1<8., or nearly as mych as the tfjtal earnings of a school tcachet.